Paramilitaries from FYROM are likely to have been involved in the enormous forest fires of 2007 taking place in Ilia, Peloponesse, according to a today’s report from the newspaper “Demokratia”.

According to the newspaper, a report from the Greek Army was sent in 17-11-2007 (note: almost 2 months after the devastating fires) to the Greek Minister at that period, Mr. Meimarakis who forwarded it to the under-secretary of the Greek Ministry of Internal Affairs, Mr Xenophotes. The report mentioned, according to the Newspaper, the following:

“The fires taking place in the summer of 2007 is an act of Skopjan extremists, in cooperation with officers of the secret agencies of Skopje.”

In its article the Greek Newspaper claims that the perpetrators of the fires of Ilia is probably a team of 10-12 persons originating from FYROM who carried Albanian passports.

In August 2007, enormous forest fires took place which led to tens of deaths and a massive environmental and economical disaster.

The final toll for the prefecture was: 45 dead, 100,000 affected by the fire, 3,500 left homeless by the fire, 25,000 dead animals, 8,500 hectares of burned forests, 2,300 hectares of burned farmland. The archeological site of Olympia was seriously threatened, but not damaged.